Chances Are
by Danni1989
Summary: Haley is the popular cheerleader.  Nathan is the star basketball player.  from different groups.  What happens when a school project forces them together?  Will Nathan be a welcome change for Haley?  Naley, Brucus, Jeyton.  Little Routh.
1. Chapter 1

It was Monday morning, and the school elite sat at their usual table, chatting amongst themselves, while studiously ignoring all the other people at the school.

"That was some party you missed Saturday Haley." Brooke said squeezing her best friends arm.

"I bet. But you know that I'm not really in the whole party scene. I just focus on my friends, my grades, and cheerleading. I don't have time for anything else." she reminded Brooke.

"Come on tutor girl. You never come to any good parties with me." Brooke whined.

"No thanks Brooke. It's not my scene. Anyway, hear any good new music recently Peyton?" Haley asked changing the subject.

"Nothing you'd be interested in Hales. I'm kinda on a Fall Out Boy kick right now. And I know you don't like them too much." Peyton said.

"Sounds interesting." Haley said unconvincingly.

"I appreciate the effort Hales, but I know you don't like them." Peyton said.

"Well, I was just trying to appease my other best friend." Haley said smiling at Peyton Sawyer her other lifelong best friend.

Meanwhile, Nathan Scott was sitting at his usual table with his friends, and brother Lucas, subtly drooling at the sight of Haley James across the quad. It wasn't that he wasn't popular, it was that he didn't want to be popular. He was content just playing basketball and hanging out with his friends. He didn't need the parties and the drama that came with hanging out with the popular crowd. He felt Lucas nudge him with his elbow and he turned his head to look at his brother.

"You really need to stop staring, your starting to create a puddle with all your drool." he said laughing at Nathan's attempt at being subtle.

"I'm not staring at her." Nathan said before turning back around to talk with his friends. Lucas just laughed a little then joined back in the conversation, unsure of why Nathan didn't just get up and talk to her. He was by far the best player on the team, he could get away with talking to Haley James, one of the three most popular girls in the school.

A few minutes later, the bell rang for first period. Everyone groaned except for Haley who loved all her classes. Everyone loved Haley, including all the teachers, she was such a hard worker, and was nice to everyone. Pretty much everyone knew that she was a shoo-in for valedictorian for their senior year, even though it was still a year away.

"Hales, you really need to lose some of that enthusiasm for school and classes, and gain some for partying and hookups." Damien West said slapping her ass.

"I like classes and school. It's something I'm good at. I don't like partying, I don't "hook up" and I really don't like it when you smack my ass." she said.

"God, calm down Hales." he said.

"And only my friends call me Hales, you sit with us, but your not my friend." she told him angrily.

"Good work Hales. Run along West." Brooke said grabbing her best friends hand and pulling her towards their first class, with Peyton linking her arm through Haley's other arm.

Nathan's first class was health, it was his favorite class for the sole reason that Haley was in it. As was Lucas, and many of his other friends, but so were Haley's friends. Nathan took his seat near the middle of the room, chosen solely for the reason that Haley was one row over from him. Every once in a while she would smile at him, they had talked briefly on occasion since she was a cheerleader for the Ravens and he was the star player. When everyone was assembled in the class, Mr. Anderson walked to the front of the room.

"Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend. This week we're going to be trying something new. I'm going to be dividing the room up into pairs, the right half of the room is going to be writing their names on a slip of paper and putting it into this bowl here, the other half will choose a name from the bowl and that will be there partner for the rest of the week. You will be spending every class with this person, and learning all you can about them. On Friday, you will be standing up here, and telling the class what you know about this person, giving us insight into someone that you maybe don't know, or don't care to know. This unit is entitled "Relationships" I want you all to forge a new relationship with the person you are paired with. Now I know enough to know that you all stick to your cliques and all that, and I know that you probably wont go anywhere near this person when you're not in this class, but I'm hoping this assignment will open you all up to the prospect of new relationship." Mr Anderson said while passing the bowl around the room. When the bowl came back to the front of the room, Mr Anderson placed the bowl in front of Bevin Mirskey.

"You start Bevin." Mr. Anderson instructed.

"I got Skills Taylor." she said smiling. Skills smiled, officially liking this project, he got to spend a week with a hot cheerleader.

"Mouth." Rachel said, not entirely sure who Mouth was, but assuming that with a name like Mouth, it could be a fun week. Her hopes were slightly dashed when she seen the geeky, gangly boy look at her from across the room.

"Jake." Peyton called out, liking her choice. Jake turned to smile at her, before getting nudged by Lucas, because they all knew about Jake's unrequited love for Peyton Sawyer. It was very similar to Nathan's crush on Haley.

"I got Lucas Scott." Brooke called out smiling. Lucas looked shocked, he was partnered up with the most beautiful girl in school, he was so far out of her league it was ridiculous, he thought to himself.

"Um, I've got Nathan." Haley said, smiling timidly at him while saying it. Nathan couldn't believe his luck, he was getting to spend an entire week with Haley James, getting to know her. They continued going around the class, and soon all the groups were chosen.

"Alright, everyone you know who your partner is, so disperse. I don't want to see you all again until Friday. You don't need to come back to class unless, you need guidance on how to do the project." he told the class, who immediately began filing out of the room. Nathan waited for Haley in the doorway while she talked to Mr. Anderson.

"Haley, you guys can talk about anything. It doesn't matter what you two talk about during class. You do know, there is such thing as being too prepared." he said chuckling.

"Yeah, I know. But what kind of stuff do you want us to learn?" she asked panicking slightly over the assignment.

"If you flip to the other side of the handout Haley, there are some guidelines and ideas of how to divulge the information, other than you firing questions at him constantly." Mr. Anderson said lightly to his favorite student.

"Thanks Mr. Anderson." she said smiling, at him more content now that she had some idea of what she was doing. When they left the classroom, they started wandering down the halls.

"So is there anywhere you would like to go?" Nathan asked.

"Anywhere is fine with me." she said awkwardly.

"Okay." he said leading down another hallway, until he finally found one that was deserted.

"How's this?" he asked.

"It's perfect." she said smiling at him. She sunk down to the floor and he imitated the action.

"Okay, how about we take turns asking a question that we both have to answer. That should get the preliminaries out of the way." Haley suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Want to go first?" he asked.

"Um, sure. Full name?" she asked.

"Nathan Royal Scott. You?" he said.

"Haley Elizabeth James." she answered.

"Favorite food?" he asked.

"Macaroni and cheese. You?" she asked laughing.

"Prime Rib. Macaroni and cheese? Seriously." he asked laughing.

"Hey, its food of the gods." she defended.

"Yeah, if your gods are five year olds." he replied laughing.

"Oh shut up." she said smacking his arm good naturedly.

"This is going to be a good week. I can feel it." he said smiling at her.

"I think you're right." she said looking at him.

"So today is just supposed to be getting to know little facts right? Tomorrow we start going into detail right?" he asked slightly confused about the project.

"Yeah. Today we find out little things like birthdate, family, favorites. That kind of things. Tomorrow is childhood memories. That'll be a fun day." she said smiling.

They talked back and forth, laughing repeatedly. Nathan couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Haley James, he added that to the already very long list of things he loved about Haley James.

Meanwhile, Mouth and Rachel were talking. Rachel was trying not to snub him based on his looks, but was having troubles. Mouth was trying to tell her about himself, and she was having a hard time paying attention.

"Rachel? Rachel! Rachel!" Mouth called to her.

"Oh. What is it?" she asked.

"I asked you a question. We're supposed to be learning about each other." he said.

"Look, I'm sorry. What's your full name Mouth?" she asked, not wanting to hurt him.

"Marvin Leo McFadden. Your's?" he answered.

"Rachel Virginia Gatina." she answered, trying to pay attention.

Brooke and Lucas were currently sitting in a empty classroom talking animatedly.

"So Lucas, what is you're full name? I bet it's something awesome." she flirted.

"Lucas Eugene Scott." he said reluctantly.

"Eugene? Are you serious?" she laughed.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up. Now what's yours?" he asked dryly.

"Brooke Penelope Davis." she said proudly.

"Damn, that's not so bad." Lucas thought to himself. The only person that possibly had a worse middle name than Lucas himself was Nathan. He was cursed to have their paternal grandfathers name as his middle name, Royal.

Jake and Peyton were sitting in the music room, just talking. They left the format and all the behind and just started talking about nothing and about everything. They used their common love for music bond them, and even after only working with him for an hour, Peyton couldn't imagine doing this project with someone else. Peyton wished she had spent more time with Jake before this, he was really easy to get along with, unlike some of the boys in their group.

Soon enough the bell rang, and everyone filed in opposite directions. Haley smiled at Nathan and walked towards her next class, hoping to meet up with Brooke or Peyton on the way. The rest of the day went by quickly, and when the bell rang, Haley was on her way to her car. On the way she found Peyton who was rambling on and on about how great Jake was, and how she didn't realize that they had so much in common.

"That's great Peyt." Haley said smiling at one of her best friends. By this time they had reached Brooke, who was standing beside her car waiting for her best friends.

"So how does everyone like their partners?" Brooke asked enthusiastically.

"Oh my God, mine is great. I mean, he likes all the same things I do. He loves music, he's a little artistic. He's a perfect match for me, this is gonna be an awesome week." she said happily.

"Mine is good too, we had a lot of fun this afternoon talking." Haley admitted.

"Well, mine was great too. I could almost picture me dating Lucas, he's hot, he's funny and he's kind." Brooke said dreamily. Haley and Peyton looked at each other with expressions of shock on their faces, Brooke Davis had just said the word "date." Eventually the girls went their separate ways and for reasons that were unexplainable to Haley, she couldn't wait to see what happened in tomorrows class with Nathan.


	2. Chapter 2

here is the second chapter. Sorry for the hiatus on all my stories, was feeling uninspired and i was sick. Hope you enjoy my attempt to get back into writing. Let me know if you like it. Thid chapter is just a filler, until i decide where i want it to go. It just consists of the second class and the discussion of childhood memories.

* * *

The next morning in health, Haley and Nathan were seated side by side in the same spot they spent the previous day.

"Okay, so today's mission is childhood memories." Nathan said.

"Yeah. Okay who wants to go first?" she asked.

"You. I don't really have that many good childhood memories." Nathan muttered.

"Oh. Okay. There was this one time when I was 8. Brooke, Peyton and I were all having a sleep over like we did every weekend. But earlier that day my older brother Matt had cut the hair off of my favorite Barbie and I was so mad. So Brooke had this genius revenge plot planned and since I was so mad I actually went along with it. Let's just say that Matt woke up the next morning with no eyebrows and a word I'm not entirely proud that I knew shaved into his head. I was in so much trouble. Grounded for a month, wasn't able to see Brooke or Peyton at all outside of school." Haley reminisced.

"wow. I'm shocked, perfect student Haley James pulling something like that." Nathan said good naturedly.

"Haha. Did you think of something?" she asked.

"Well there was this one time, when my Uncle Cooper came down and took us camping. Me and Lucas were so bored that night, and all Cooper wanted to do was sleep. Earlier that day Cooper and knocked us into the lake when we were sitting in a tree, so we wanted revenge naturally. So that night we quietly got out of our tent and snuck over to Coopers, we pulled his air mattress out with him on it, and pushed it into the lake. He was impressed and mad at the same time with our ingenuity." Nathan said smiling.

"I would have liked to see that." Haley mused.

"I would like to see someone with no eyebrows and "jackass" shaved into his head." Nathan said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess we both had slightly rebellious pasts huh?" she said perfectly aware that she was flirting slightly.

Meanwhile, Brooke and Lucas were sitting in their spot, brainstorming possible memories.

"Oh my God, there was this one time a couple years ago, that Haley, Peyton and I were hanging out at my house. We were all 15 I think. So its not really a childhood memory, but its still one of my favorite moments. It was the one night that we got Haley a little bit crazy, she had a little bit to drink and was completely plastered. She'll forever remember that night, because the three of us did a couple things that we wont be able to take back. A friend of mine back then was a tattoo artist and a body piercer. He tattooed best friends forever on the back of each of our necks. Haley always keeps hers covered, her parents still don't know about it. And we all got our belly buttons pierced, I know Haley secretly likes that one. But she keeps it covered all the time, even while cheerleading, she makes sure her top never rides up. But since that night, Haley has never touched a drop of alcohol again. Her restraint is amazing. She's my best friend for a reason." Brooke said smiling at the memory while unconsciously stroking the tattoo on the back of her neck.

"Wow. I never pictured Haley like that. Well there was this one time a few years ago, that Nathan will never forgive me for. I was pissed at him for beating me in a game of one on one, since back then I thought I could beat him. I'm over it now, but he still isn't. But I replaced his shampoo with blue hair dye. Thankfully it was summer holidays because his hair was a pretty shade of blue for the next month until it washed out. He was so mad, he stayed inside for the whole month, not wanting anyone to see his hair like that." Lucas said laughing.

"You dyed your brothers hair blue. That's almost like the time he destroyed Haley's brother Matt's hair by shaving jackass into it, and shaving off his eyebrows." Brooke said laughing.

"You did that to Haley's brother? Wow. I'm guessing you were the mastermind behind that plot. Haley's too innocent I think." Lucas guessed.

"You are correct." Brooke said smiling at him.

Jake and Peyton were sitting outside at a table talking. Again like yesterday they were completely ignoring the suggestions that Mr Anderson had given them. Peyton was listening carefully as Jake told her all about Jenny his daughter. He didn't know what made him talk to her about that, but he wanted her to know. He guessed that was because of how he was already starting to feel about her. Peyton was an amazing girl, and it didn't matter that they were from different groups. Peyton treated him like a normal guy, even though she was part of the trio of popular girls. Peyton was initially shocked when he mentioned Jenny, but quickly grew to accept it when she saw the look or pure adoration on his face when he mentioned her. It was nice to see someone care like that about someone. It reminded her of how her dad looked at her.

"I find it amazing how dedicated you are to her." Peyton told him, after he finished telling her about him.

"It's so easy. I was hooked the moment I saw her. She's all I have, and I'm fine with that." Jake said.

"You remind me of my dad like that. Since my mom died, I'm all he has, and he's not bitter about it at all. He loves me, and wants me to be happy. He lets me be myself, and for that I'm grateful, even though I've done some things, that he wouldn't be proud of me for. Like my tattoo and belly button piercing for example." Peyton said smiling.

"You have a tattoo?" Jake asked smiling.

"Yeah, on the back of my neck. Brooke and Haley have the same one, in the same spot. It was a crazy night a couple years ago." she explained showing him the tattoo.

"Best friends forever." he read out loud.

"Have been since we were 4, and we met at the sandbox." Peyton said.

"That's amazing. I've only been friends with Lucas and Nathan since high school, so hearing about a friendship like that is amazing." Jake told her honestly.

"They are the best friends anyone could ask for. I am so lucky to have them, they helped me get through my moms death, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I love them more than anything in the whole world. I would do anything for my friends." Peyton said passionately.

"I know what you mean. You consider them your family, and I don't know what I would do if something happened to Jenny. She's all I have, and they're all you have." he said.

"Yeah." she said smiling.

"Hey, Peyton I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out with me sometime?" Jake asked nervously before he lost the nerve.

"You want to go out on a date with me?" she asked.

"Yeah. If you want to. I wanted to ask you yesterday but though that would be a little weird. Especially if I admitted that I have wanted to ask you out for the longest time." he rambled.

"No, I would love to go out with you." Peyton said putting a stop to his rambling.

"Really? Awesome. This will be so much fun, can I pick you up tonight? We can go for dinner." he suggested.

"That sounds perfect Jake." she assured him.

Haley was sitting next to Nathan unconsciously rubbing the tattoo on the back of her neck, whenever she couldn't think of something to say whenever Nathan said something. She couldn't remember the last time she couldn't think of something to say, and she figured this had something to do with the unrequited crush she had on him.

"Hey, are you okay? Is you're neck sore? You keep rubbing the back of it. I give a mean massage if you want." he said noticing her rubbing her neck.

"Oh no. It's okay. Rubbing the back of my neck is something that I do when I'm nervous." she admitted.

"You're nervous? About what?" he asked.

"You. I've never hung out with a boy I actually like before." she admitted.

"You like me?" he asked.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" she asked.

"I just didn't think there would be anything about me that you'd like." he admitted.

"There's lots I like about you. I trust you." she said.

"Now, why don't you tell me something I don't know about you,, since we're done with childhood memories." he suggested.

"Hmmm, two years ago I had a wild night with Brooke and Peyton. Brooke invited this guy she knew who did tattoos and piercing. We got so drunk, I don't actually remember the night at all but the guy tattooed best friends forever on the back of Brookes, Peyton's and my necks. And on a whim we got our bellybuttons pierced." she admitted, turning to show Nathan the tattoo on the back of her neck.

"Wow. Haley James a tattooed and pierced rebel." he stated.

"Not anymore. That was one night, and now I don't do anywhere near alcohol or parties. My parents don't even know about these changes." she said.

Nathan nodded, and added the piercing and tattoo to the things he loved about Haley James, that list was getting to be way too long. The bell rang, and like yesterday Haley and Nathan stood up, but this time Haley leaned over and hugged him. He was too shocked to hug her back at first, but eventually he wrapped his arms around her waist to hug her back. Brooke hugged Lucas goodbye, and planted a kiss on the side of his neck. While Peyton just kissed Jake on the cheek and said "see you tonight." Everyone was really starting to enjoy this class.


	3. Chapter 3

Hope you like this chapter. Just a bunch of pointless fluff to further the relationships. Hope you like it. If you have any ideas or comments let me know. Please review, they make my day.

PS i own nothing. Only my ideas.

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Jake picked Peyton up at exactly 7 and eagerly waited in her living room with her father while she was upstairs getting ready.

"So Jake where are you taking my little girl?" Larry Sawyer asked.

"I was just planning on going to the Café and then maybe this little place I know of that plays music at night." he answered. They both stood up when they heard Peyton coming down the stairs.

"Wow you look amazing." Jake mused when she came into view.

"Are you kidding. I look just like I do every other day." she said blushing. She couldn't believe she was blushing, Peyton Sawyer had never blushed in her life.

"Well you still look amazing." he said glancing at her AC DC T shirt and jeans combo. He had told her to dress casually.

"See you later Dad." she called as she led Jake from the house.

"So where are we going?" she asked once they were driving away from her house.

"I thought we'd eat at Karen's Café and then go to this little place I know of that plays music." he said gauging her response.

"That sounds perfect." Peyton said smiling.

"Great" Jake said smiling.

All throughout dinner they talked animatedly about everything from Jenny to Peyton's friendship with Haley and Brooke.

"You know what Peyton? I'm really thankful for this assignment because without it I would never have had the guts to ask you out." Jake admitted.

"Really. I'm not that threatening am I? she asked smiling.

"No you're not. But we're from different groups, and besides Brooke and Haley are slightly scary since I know how much they love you." Jake said.

"We take care of each other. In our trio, Brooke is the fun party girl, Haley is the strong, kind, beautiful, girl with not enough confidence in herself, the one that would help anyone who needed it, and I am the moody artist one. We help each other and are each others best friends. Even boyfriends through the years have always had to understand what we mean to each other." Peyton explained.

"That sounds wonderful. It must be nice having someone always be there for you no matter what." Jake mused.

"It is. I don't think I could live without them." Peyton admitted.

Meanwhile Brooke was making a statement. She was standing outside the Scott house ringing the doorbell. She couldn't understand why she needed to see him now, when she would be seeing him tomorrow morning at school. It didn't make sense to her, Brooke Davis didn't have crushes, she had a target and when she attained it she enjoyed it for a while then got rid of it. This was different, Brooke Davis never pursued boys, boys pursued her. She plastered a sultry smile on her face when Lucas opened the door.

"Brooke Davis what are you doing here?" he asked shocked to see her on his front step.

"I guess I just wanted to see you. So can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course. Come on in." he said leading her into the living room where he was previously in the midst of a furious game of NBA live with Nathan.

"Hi Nathan." Brooke greeted.

"Oh hey. Um I'm gonna go else where." Nathan said grabbing his keys and leaving his brother alone with his dream girl.

"Okay. I'll see you later Nate." Lucas said excited to be spending one on one time with Brooke outside of school.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"I don't know." Lucas said.

"Well we could talk, or we could just make out." she said smiling.

"Okay." Lucas answered.

"Okay to which one." Brooke wondered.

"You choose" he said leaning closer to Brooke.

"I don't know. I like talking to you but making out is so much more fun." she said softly pressing her lips to Lucas's. They kissed softly for a moment until Brooke pulled away shocked at the feelings she felt while kissing Lucas.

Rachel was driving around trying to find Mouth's house. She knew she needed to apologize for the way she had been snubbing him recently. It wasn't fair to him, and besides he was so nice. He was the only guy that she had met that made absolutely no attempt to get her to date him, or mess around with him. When she finally found the house, after asking around for three hours, she got out and rang the doorbell.

"Hello. Can I help you?" a middle aged woman asked.

"Is Mouth here?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, just let me get him." the woman said. Rachel heard her call Mouth through the house telling him that there was a girl there to see him. Rachel smiled knowing that this probably didn't happen all that often to Mouth.

"Rachel. What are you doing here?" he asked shocked to find her on his doorstep.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I have been treating you. You don't deserve it. You're so nice and everything, and its so hard to not be nice to you. I'll be on my best behaviour for the rest of the assignment I promise." she vowed.

"Thanks for coming by Rachel." Mouth said smiling.

"Thank you for forgiving me Mouth." Rachel said hugging him.

Nathan was shooting around at the Rivercourt thinking that Lucas owed him big time. He had made 20 free throws in a row when he heard a voice behind him.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Haley said walking up beside him.

"Haley. What are you doing here?" Nathan asked surprised to find her there.

"I was bored. Peyton is out with Jake, and last I heard Brooke was planning to go and corrupt Lucas. So there was nothing to do. I went for a drive and seen you out here playing and decided to come and hang out with you.

"You know that's pretty much the exact same excuse I have for being here too. You want to play some one on one." he asked.

"No, I cant even make a free throw." Haley admitted.

"Come on you cant be that bad." he said.

"Oh you wanna bet?" she asked smiling.

"What's the bet gonna be?" he asked.

"The loser buys the winner lunch Saturday." she said.

"Deal." Nathan said passing the ball to Haley. Haley threw the ball and it didn't get anywhere close to the net.

"Are you serious? That was horrible." Nathan said.

"I told you. I suck." she said.

"I am going to show you how to make a free throw." he said moving to stand behind her. He placed the ball in her hands and positioned her square to the basket. He brought her hands up just past her nose and placed the ball in her hands. He placed his hands on her hips and helped her shoot. Haley jumped in the air and threw her arms around Nathan's neck when the ball went through the hoop.

"Now try it on your own." he said passing her the ball again. She successfully threw the ball through the hoop three more times.

"Hmm, I guess that means I win." Nathan mused.

"What! No! The deal was if I cant make a free throw my first shot." Haley defended.

"Hmm, that wasn't in the agreement. You said you couldn't make a free throw and I said you could. And you did. So I win. I'm gonna have to think long and hard about what I want for lunch." he said taking a seat on the ground and laying back.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked.

"Thinking. I always make my big decisions in life while laying out here on the pavement staring up at the stars." he explained. Haley laid down beside him and watched the stars with him. Nathan turned his head to the side to see Haley staring up at the stars. She was beautiful he thought. Gauging her reaction he took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. He saw a small smile grace her lips and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her. They laid there watching the stars with their entwined hands laying on the pavement between them. Eventually the spell was broken and Haley looked at her watch.

"I guess its time for me to go. It's getting late." she said standing up.

"Yeah. Hopefully Brooke is done corrupting Lucas by the time I get there." Nathan said.

"Yeah, but at least he wont tell you all the sordid details, Brooke tells us everything." Haley winced.

"You definitely have it worse." Nathan said smiling.

"Oh yeah. She doesn't leave anything out." Haley said wincing again.

They stood together silently for a couple more minutes before surprising both of them Haley ever so softly pressed her lips against Nathan's. When she pulled away she smiled at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning." Haley said before turning and walking back to her car.

After watching the concert Jake drove Peyton home.

"I had a great time tonight Peyton. We should do this again really soon." he told her.

"Yes we should. Walk me to my door." she said not wanting to say goodbye just yet.

"Sure." he said eagerly.

When they got to the door Peyton shocked Jake by leaning in a kissing him softly.

"See you tomorrow." she said before turning and walking in the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think. All your praise is very good encouragment to get the next chapter out.

PS: I own nothing

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"And then we kissed." Haley told Peyton and Brooke that night when she walked in the house after her evening with Nathan. Haley had walked into her room to find Peyton and Brooke lounging across her bed. They could tell from the look on her face, that she had an amazing night, and demanded details.

"Oooh. You kissed the hotshot basketball player." Brooke clarified excitedly.

"Yeah. It was amazing." Haley replied dreamily.

"Good for you Hales. Jake kissed me tonight too. It was amazing." Peyton said smiling, remembering her evening with Jake.

"What happened tonight P Sawyer? You've been keeping us in the dark all night." Brooke whined.

"Fine. He picked me up, we went to the café for some dinner. He then took me to this concert at this place he knew, then he took me home, walked me to my door and kissed me goodnight." Peyton recalled the evenings happenings.

"That sounds amazing Peyt. You and Jake are the perfect couple." Haley said squeezing her friends knee.

"Thanks Hales. Now it seems Brooke is the only one who hasn't spilled her evenings activities to us yet. Your turn B Davis." Peyton taunted.

"fine. I went to Lucas's and we made out all night. That's it that's all." Brooke said quickly.

"You and Lucas Scott made out all night?" Peyton asked.

"yeah. He's an amazing kisser." Brooke replied dreamily.

"Yeah yeah. Not as good as Jake I would bet." Peyton argued.

"and especially not as good as Nathan. Oh my God, when I kissed him, butterflies fluttered in my stomach. It was like an out of body experience." Haley said dreamily.

"Oh my God. Haley has a crush on the basketball God. This is so amazing." Brooke enthused.

"Yeah yeah, it may be amazing. But what isn't amazing is that we have school tomorrow and have to be up early, and here we are still talking at midnight. Lets get some sleep." Haley said.

"Fine. Goodnight bestest friends." Brooke said settling into her spot on Haley's bed.

"Goodnight." Peyton said yawning.

"goodnight." Haley said.

A few hours later Haley's alarm went off and the three girls stirred. Brooke leaped out of the bed, so she could get to the shower first.

"Brooke you better not take all day in there." Haley warned.

"I wont." Brooke said in a singsong voice from the bathroom.

"You do realize that you wont have time to shower today now right. Might as well just get ready, at least then we wont be late for school." Peyton suggested while brushing out her blonde hair.

"You're right. We'll be lucky if Brooke is out of the bathroom by the time its time to go." Haley said grabbing her brush and brushing her brown hair out. A little while later, Haley and Peyton were sitting on Haley's bed waiting on Brooke.

"Brooke are you serious? How long does it take to get ready. Lets go." Peyton called.

"Yeah. I really don't want to be late for school. And its not fair for you to be gorgeous while we haven't had the chance to shower or anything." Haley whined.

"Whatever. I'm almost done." Brooke called from the bathroom. A few minutes later she finally emerged from the bathroom.

"How do I look?" Brooke asked smiling.

"Fabulous. Now lets go." Haley said urging her friends to the door.

Haley, Brooke and Peyton got to school just as the bell was ringing, and an announcement came over the intercom telling all first period health classes to go to the classroom for a quick meeting. Everyone filed into the classroom where Mr Anderson was waiting.

"Ok. I just wanted to tell everyone that I am having way too much fun with this assignment, that I am extending it a couple days. Presentation day is now Monday. Be prepared, I am expecting some pretty phenomenal projects. Now get to work." he said dismissing them. Nathan waited for Haley by the door.

"How are you doing today?" she asked him when they exited the room.

"Great. You?" he asked.

"Ugh. I am going to kill Brooke." she said, really feeling the lack of a refreshing shower.

'Why" he asked.

"Because her and Peyton stayed at my house last night, and Brooke took all morning to shower and get ready, therefore I didn't get my morning shower and am very grumpy." Haley said.

"I see that. Remind me not to upset you ever." he said grinning at her. Haley smiled back and smacked his arm. They went back to their usual spot, and started discussing their hopes and dreams, which was today's discussion.

Meanwhile, Brooke and Lucas had barricaded themselves in an empty classroom, and her making out furiously.

"Shouldn't we be discussing our hopes and dreams?" Lucas asked when he broke away from Brooke.

"I don't see the point. Making out is so much more fun." she said before kissing him again.

"I know. This is so much better.' he said again before throwing himself into his intense make out session with Brooke.

Peyton and Jake were sitting on the ground, and Jake had his arm around Peyton's shoulder.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Jake said nuzzling her neck.

"You're pretty great too." Peyton replied.

"Well, how about today we do something different. We should actually follow the timeline to see what we're supposed to talk about today." Jake suggested.

"Sounds good. Today is hopes and dreams for the future. This should be fun." Peyton said dryly.

"Ok. Well how about I go first. I dream for the future would have to be me being a great single father, and Jenny growing up happy and healthy. I hope that she gets everything out of life that we wants." Jake said solemnly.

"I think every father wants that. Now what do you want Jake?" Peyton asked again.

"I haven't really thought about it. Right now and probably forever, Jenny occupies every thought I have. I cant do anything without thinking of her first. But I guess if I'm dreaming, I would love to do something with the music I write, and maybe play basketball. I guess one of those would be my dream." Jake said.

"Wow. I don't really know what I would do with my life. I guess I would maybe want to go to college. I want to make my dad proud of me. If I were to go to college, I would probably take business, art or music. I don't know. The future is sill a long ways off." she said brushing it off.

"Peyton. Being that I too am a single father, I know for a fact that you're dad is proud of you. He raised a wonderful, beautiful, kind daughter. And for that he should be so proud. I know that's what I want Jenny to be." Jake said seriously.

"Jake. Thank you for telling me that. Sometimes I wonder." she trailed off.

"Wonder what?" Jake asked taking her hand.

"I wonder if I'm making my dad proud. Or if he regrets me. Or resents me. I wonder if my mom is proud of me from heaven. I wonder if I'm keeping my father from the life he should have had." she listed.

"Peyton don't worry about any of that. Your dad doesn't regret you, or resent you. I mean, how could he? Your mom is proud of you, I would bet on it. And I would guarantee that you're father is living the life he wants to. He's raising you, and that's what all fathers want in life." Jake assured.

"Thank you. You always know what to say. You're almost like Haley and Brooke like that." Peyton laughed slightly.

"That's what I'm here for. I'll be the male version of Brooke and Haley, whenever you need me." he said laughing. For the rest of class, Jake and Peyton just went back to their usual conversation of music and art, knowing that after the intensity of the earlier conversation, that they needed a break.

Haley and Nathan sat side by side on the floor in their hallway. They were almost touching but not quite, and the closeness was hard on both of them.

"Okay, what's your dream Nathan?" Haley asked trying to alleviate some of the tension in the room.

"Well my dream has always been to play in the NBA. It's always been the plan. But I guess I wouldn't mind having a family someday. Maybe a little girl, or a boy. It doesn't really matter. My dream would be too be a better father to my kids than my dad was to me. I wouldn't pressure them, or belittle them the way my father did me." Nathan answered her question without hesitance.

"I would love to perform my music to the world. But that's just a dream, I mean, I cant even play in front of a single person other that Brooke or Peyton without panicking. So that dream is out obviously. I guess my other dream would to be like my mom. Be a wonderful parent, and have a family that loves me, and a husband that would do anything for me. My dream is to find someone I want to spend the rest of my life with, and have a family with that man." she said solemnly.

"Ok. But when it comes to your music, don't give up on that dream. It could happen. Maybe someday you'll just get up on stage and sing your heart out. And you'll love it." he told her. Haley smiled at him, then out of the blue she leaned over and kissed him softly.

"Brooke, he really need to stop. We should at least talk about our dreams for a minute." Lucas panted pulling away from Brooke.

"Fine. You first Eugene." she said using his middle name.

"You promised to never bring that up again." he whined.

"Sorry. It just came out. Now what's your life dream?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess if basketball doesn't work out for whatever reason. I would love to publish some of my writing. I would love to be an author." he said quickly.

"You would be great at both of them. I would love to start up a fashion label. I have millions of sketches done, for possible lines and several unfinished dresses sitting in my closet. My dream would be to create a fashion line, and make it hugely successful." Brooke said, her eyes shining as she talked about her dream.

"And you'll do it. You know why? Because you're Brooke Davis, and you always get what you want." Lucas told her smiling.

"You're right. Now I want you to kiss me." she told him.

"If I have to." he said smiling, and he leant over to kiss her. A few minutes later, the bell rang, and like everyday the groups dispersed and went their separate ways.


	5. Chapter 5

here is the latest chapter. hope you enjoy it, as much as i enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think. You're reviews make my day! :)

PS I own nothing.

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"Haley you have to come to the party this weekend. You promised to go to one a month with me. Please Haley." Brooke whined Thursday morning.

"Brooke why don't you ask Lucas to go with you? I bet he would do almost anything you asked him too." Haley said.

"He is already coming. But that isn't the point, you have to come with me. You promised one party a month. Plus you could invite Nathan and it could be an official date, if you two don't go on one before then." Brooke begged.

"Fine. I'll come. And I am going to ask Nathan to come with me." Haley said giving in.

"Good. I knew you would give in eventually." Brooke squealed.

"Yeah yeah." Haley groaned.

"Aren't you used to it by now?" Peyton asked, squeezing her best friends arm.

"I should be. But Brooke never fails to surprise me." she said.

"Oh shut up. You two." Brooke whined, hating being teased by her two best friends. The bell rang short minutes later.

"See you after school." Haley said hugging her best friends before walking towards the school.

"Hey." Haley said when she walked up beside Nathan.

"Hey you." he said instinctively putting his arm around her waist.

" So are you ready for another day of getting to know each other?" she asked shooting him a dazzling smile.

"Definitely." he told her walking by her side until they reached their hallway.

"Okay. Today's conversation is going to be awkward." Nathan said.

"Yeah. The old relationships day is automatically awkward. Although my side shouldn't take to long. I don't have a lot of dating experience." she said shyly.

"I have dated quite a few girls. But never one as amazing as you." he said squeezing her hand.

"Thank you. I'll go first. I dated Damien West for a couple months last year. That's about it for my dating history." she said.

"You dated Damien West?" he asked shocked.

"Yeah. That is why he sits with us everyday. But no one wants him there, its just too much effort to send him away, so we just ignore him." she explained.

"He's kind of an ass." Nathan said, knowing him from basketball.

"He is. He hates you by the way." she said smiling.

"Oh now why is that?" he asked returning her smile.

"Because he thinks the team is his, and the whole school knows that its your team. And he hates how close we're becoming." she said moving closer to him.

"We are becoming close huh?" he said shifting so he's closer to her.

"Yeah." she said unable to think straight with his lips so close to her own.

"Which is why I think you should go out on a date with me tonight. An official one. And which is why I think you are going to kiss me, right about now." he said right before their lips met. This kiss lasted longer than all their other ones, and Haley honestly didn't want to break it. She pulled away when the need for air became too much for her to handle.

"You are quite good at that. Much better than Damien." Haley said smirking at him. "You are better than all my old girlfriends too." he returned lacing their fingers together.

"About that date. I would love to." she told him.

"Good." he said.

"Now that we got that out of the way. We should get back to the topic at hand." she said.

"Okay, if we have to. I kind of liked the conversation we were having before." he said flirting.

"I know. Me too. But I really don't want to look like an idiot in front of the class not being able to tell them anything about you. Because I spent the entire week kissing you." she said.

"Well you could always tell them how good of a kisser I am." he suggested.

"No. Mr. Anderson wont like that very much. I'm supposed to get to know you. Now dish about your past relationships." she said.

"Fine. I dated Melanie Collins for two weeks last year. And then Kylie Stewart for a couple months, and the list goes on. It just seems weird that we're learning that. I don't mind you knowing all about my past, but I really don't want the entire class knowing." he said.

"I'm not putting this information in my report. It's not anyone else's business." she assured him.

"You know what?" he asked.

"What?" she replied.

"I kinda like you right now." he said before leaning in to kiss her again.

"Now that that's over with. What do you want to talk about now?" she asked somewhat nervously.

"Ummm. I think I would like to kiss you some more." he answered smirking at her.

"I think that can be arranged." she said.

Brooke and Lucas were laying across the table talking.

"So do you want to discuss our past relationships?" Lucas asked.

"Not really, but I do think that we should. Especially if we are ever planning on being exclusive." she answered.

"Okay, I'll go first. I've never had a girlfriend. And kissing you? It was actually believe it or not, my first kiss. So yeah, I am pretty inexperienced." Lucas said quickly.

"Well I unlike you have had lots of experience with boys. I have dated so many guys I have lost track. Although dating is probably the wrong word. It was mostly unemotional one night stands that I regretted immediately. Haley and Peyton were my rocks through all those nights that I came home upset with myself after I slept with one more horrible guy." Brooke said wincing.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. Or be afraid that I will turn away from you, if you confess parts of your past to me, that you aren't proud of. You have nothing to worry about you. I don't care about your past. All I care about is our future. We both have our individual pasts that made us who we are today, and I don't want you to change. You are this beautiful, wonderful, kind, funny girl, so I have developed this insane crush on. I like you Brooke Davis." Lucas said before punctuating his speech with a kiss.

"I like you to Lucas Scott." Brooke replied smiling, and wondering how she managed to get this nice, kind boy to give a girl like her a shot.

"I know about your past Jake. You don't have to tell me about Nikki." Peyton assured him.

"I know but I want to. I mean she was a huge part of my life. She is Jenny's mom." Jake told his girlfriend.

"Just know that you don't have to. I mean I would rather we just skip this part. Its not like we're gonna talk about our exes in this presentation anyways. I don't even know why this part is even in here." Peyton said.

"Okay. If your sure." Jake replied.

"I'm sure. Now Jake what exactly are your plans this weekend.?" Peyton asked.

"Nothing right now. Probably just hanging at home with Jenny as I do every weekend." he replied.

"Well I think you should get your mom and dad to babysit and come to this party that Brooke is making me go to." she said.

"Are you asking me out?" Jake grinned.

"No. I am asking you to a party, because I don't want to go alone." she said teasing.

"Well in that case, of course I will go with you Miss Sawyer." he said.

"Why thank you Mr Jagielski." Peyton replied theatrically.

"Nathan I need to stop. I cant breathe." Haley said finally pulling away.

"I have that effect on a lot of people. They just cant breathe when they are around me." he laughed.

"Ha ha. How do you live with such a large ego. I mean does it even fit in the same house as you?" she laughed.

"Ha Ha." he said dryly.

"Now I wanted to ask you a question? There is this party Friday night. And I wanted to know if you would go with me? Brooke is making me go. I have to go to one party a month to appease her, and I hoped you would come. It would make it so much more bearable for me. And besides it'll give you a chance to meet my friends. And maybe you'll find that you have more in common with them than you think. And maybe…" she rambled before Nathan cut her off,

"Stop. You're rambling. Of course I'll come with you." he said kissing her cheek. Adding her rambling to the list of the things that he loved about Haley James. He was soon starting to realize that maybe instead of just loving things about her, maybe he loved her. It was definitely starting to feel like love, and that quite honestly scared the hell out of him. He had never dealt with love before, and had no idea how to handle it. The bell rang short minutes later and Nathan pulled Haley to her feet.

"So I'll see you tonight for our date?" he asked again just to make sure she didn't change her mind.

"Definitely I'll see you tonight." she said smiling before walking away.


	6. Chapter 6

okay this chapter is all Naley. Their date. Yippee, was so excited to write this chapter. This story only has 4 chapter left. i know its short. but it makes sense to end it where i am ending it. Hope you enjoy Naley's date. Read and review.

PS i own nothing

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Nervously, Nathan rang the doorbell at Haley's house. A couple seconds later a man he assumed was her father answered the door.

"And you are?" he asked.

"This must be Nathan." Lydia said walking over to the door.

"Um yeah. That's me." Nathan said nervously.

"Well come on in then Nathan. Haley will be down in a couple minutes. She wants to look nice for you. I find that so cute." Lydia said leading him into the living room. Jimmy followed them into the living, quite honestly not liking the idea of his youngest daughter dating.

"So Nathan where do you intend on taking my baby?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm taking her out for dinner to this place I know, and then a movie. I know its not the most creative date idea, but I think she'll like it." Nathan answered.

"That is so sweet. She'll love it. And judging by the way you're dressed, its not Karen's Café." Lydia said.

"No. its this restaurant down by the river. I thought I should wear something kind of nice. But it doesn't matter what she wears. She looks beautiful in anything." Nathan told them smiling. A couple minutes later they heard foot steps on the stairs, and Nathan stood up. Haley emerged wearing a black one shouldered dress and black peep toe pumps. She had a black jacket draped over her arm.

"Wow. You look so beautiful." he said.

"You don't look so bad yourself." she told him, walking over to where he was standing.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Sure." she affirmed.

"Have her home by 830" Jimmy instructed.

"Oh relax honey. Have her home by 11." Lydia told them.

"Okay." Nathan said before leading her out of the house.

"Have a good night sweetie." Lydia called. Jimmy watched from the window inconspicuously while Nathan opened the door for Haley and waited until she was in before shutting it for her. He was impressed by the boys chivalry. It was one of those things that he had done for Lydia when they were dating. Jimmy was finding it really hard to hate the boy, when that was all he wanted to do. This boy could steal his baby girl away.

"So where are we going?" Haley asked.

"Wait and see beautiful." he said grinning at her. All traces of nervousness gone.

"Well I hope that it involves food, because I am starving." Haley said.

"It does. You really look beautiful tonight." he said.

"Thank you. I hope I'm not overdressed. Its just that I've never had the opportunity to get dressed up for a date before. With Damien we didn't do anything like this. We never went out. It was all parties and drama. So thank you for this." she said.

"What kind of guy wouldn't want to take you out on a real date. Doesn't a real date make the relationship seem more, I don't know, valid?" he asked.

"I think so. With Damien I never felt comfortable, or anything. It didn't feel like a relationship. We would go to a party, and kiss and stuff. But that's all. There was never any tenderness or concern on his part. It was all drama." she told him.

"That sucks. I promise I am nothing like Damien." Nathan vowed.

"I know you're not. You are better." she said taking his hand. When they arrived at the riverside restaurant he parked the car and instructed her not to move. He walked over to her side of the car and opened the door like a perfect gentleman.

"Why thank you kind sir." she said dramatically. He smiled and took her hand. They walked over to the stand where the host was standing.

"Table for 2. Reservation is under Scott." he said.

"Here we are. Right this way Mr Scott." the host said leading them to a table overlooking the water.

"Nathan this is beautiful." she whispered.

"Only the best for the girl I have liked for the longest time." he told her flashing her a brilliant smile. They sat and talked for a little while before the waitress appeared carrying trays of food.

"I hope you're okay with this. But I ordered for us earlier." he said gauging her reaction.

"That all depends on what you got me." she said smiling.

"Oh I think you'll be happy with what I chose." he said grinning. The waitress removed the cover off of her plate and s radiant smile lit up her face when she saw the macaroni and cheese heaped on her plate.

"I cant believe you remembered that." she said smiling.

"I remember everything you told me about yourself." he told her tenderly.

"I'm impressed." she said.

"Just wait. You havent seen nothing yet." he told her smirking.

"I cant wait." she said. The two of them ate in companionable silence, neither feeling the need to fill the moment with useless chit chat. After they were finished the waitress dropped off the bill and Nathan paid for the meal before escorting her back out to his car.

"Where to now?" she asked.

"I was originally planning on walking around, but with the heels your wearing, I don't think that's a good idea." he said.

"Nathan its fine. I have been friends with Brooke Davis forever. I can walk in heels in my sleep." she said assuring her.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. I would love to walk through the park with you." she said. He led her to a path and they started wandering down it. They held hands and enjoyed the silence and each others company. Haley pulled him over to a bench and sat down.

"Are your feet sore?" he asked concerned.

"No. It's just that this night is beautiful. And I want to enjoy it, sitting here with you." she said laying her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she nestled even closer to his side. They sat there together, watching life go on around them. After watching a few more people go by, an older couple walked past.

"Aw look Henry. I love seeing young couples in love." she nudged her husband.

"Aw. Young love." he said taking his wife's hand.

"Young man. You two look so content sitting there like that. Try to remember life like that. Would you like me to take a picture? So you can remember this moment." the old lady asked.

"Sure." he said. Haley looked up at him, and a content smile graced her features. Pretty much lost in their own world, the woman snapped the picture on Nathan's cell phone.

"Nice to meet you. Young love is so hard to find these days." she said smiling.

"What are your names?" the old man asked.

"I'm Nathan Scott. And this is Haley James." Nathan said.

"Nice to meet you Nathan and Haley. Take it from me, we have been married 50 years. It's the best feeling in the world." the man said before continuing on their way.

"They were nice. Let me see the picture." she said.

"We look so happy in it. Let's always be happy." he said.

"We will. I like you a lot Nathan Scott." she said.

"I like you too Haley James." he told her kissing her temple. Haley glanced at her watch, and sighed in disappointment.

"We should probably get going, unless you want my dad to have a fit." she said.

"Yeah like the one he would have if he ever found out about the tattoo and piercing, huh." he speculated.

"It would be different." she said.

"Do you ever plan on confessing the tattoo and piercing." Nathan asked curious.

"No. They wouldn't understand." she said, disappointed when they arrived at his car. Like earlier he held her door open for her and waited until she was inside, before going around to his side. They made the drive home in silence, and both sighed when they arrived at her house. He walked her to the front door.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Haley asked.

"Yeah." Nathan smiled.

"You're still coming to the party right?" she asked.

"For sure. I'm not about to waste a possible evening spent with my girlfriend." he said brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Good. Now you better kiss me, so I can go inside and go to bed. Because I don't want to ruin this perfect night." she told him.

"How can I say no to that?" he asked rhetorically, before ever so gently pressing his lips to hers.

"Good night." she said breathlessly.

"Goodnight." he said before walking back to his car, knowing for sure now that he was completely in love with Haley James. He watched her walk into the house, so he drove home.

Haley walked in the house to find her dad sitting in the living room.

"Have a good night?" he asked.

"One of the best ever." she said grinning.

"That's good. You really like this boy huh?" he asked.

"Yes. I really like him. What makes you ask?" she asked.

"I remember how you were with Damien. And I never remember any kisses on the doorstep when he dropped you off. There was with Nathan." he said smiling slightly.

"I really like him. But I should go to bed, I have school in the morning." Haley said.

"Good night honey. For the record, I like him." he called after her. Haley walked up the stairs smiling. When she reached her bedroom, her cell phone started chiming. She opened her phone to find the picture the old lady and taken of them on her phone, with a message from Nathan.

"The best night of my life. Thought you should have a copy too. Never been happier than I was when that picture was taken." Haley feel asleep dreaming about tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

short chapter. only three more left :( hope you enjoy. read and review

PS I own nothing

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The next morning Haley was sitting with Brooke and Peyton at their usual table. So far Damien wasn't there, which was fine by the girls.

"So Hales. Spill. How was the date?" Brooke demanded.

"It was perfect. He was a perfect gentleman. We went to that restaurant by the river and then walked through the park. An older couple then for a picture of us on Nathan's phone, for us. He texted the picture to me before I went to sleep last night. He drove me home, kissed me goodnight." she said remembering last night.

"I want to see the picture." Peyton said.

"Here." Haley said handing them her phone.

"Wow." Peyton said.

"That is so cute." Brooke squealed.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go invite them to sit with us." Haley said nodding over to Nathan's table.

"Great idea Tutor girl." Brooke said happily.

"Yeah. It'll be nice to spend even more time with Jake." Peyton said.

Haley walked over to the table.

"Hey Nate you're girlfriend is coming." Lucas said.

"Hey." she said walking over to stand by Nathan's chair.

"Hey, how are you?" he said turning to face her.

"Great. But that's not why I'm here. Do you all want to come sit with us? You're all probably better company than Damien West." she said.

"Haley James, Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer are inviting us to sit with them?" Skills asked jokingly.

"Yes. And it's a one time offer so you better come now." she joked.

"Lets go." Skills said jumping up. Everyone smiled and walked over to the table. Haley waited for Nathan and linked their hands together.

"I get to sit at the popular table today?" he joked.

"Yeah, and if you're lucky I'll let you sit here Monday too." she told him leaning in to kiss him softly. Haley walked around her chair beside Brooke and instructed Nathan to sit in the one next to hers. She loved seeing everyone talk comfortably.

"What the hell is this?" Damien asked when he walked up to the table.

"We kinda invited them to sit with us today Damien. Didn't think you'd care. Oh wait it doesn't matter if you care or not." she said.

"It's not okay. This is my table." he squealed.

"No, its our table." Haley said gesturing between Brooke, Peyton and herself.

"Fine. They can stay." he said sitting down dejectedly.

"Enjoy your day of popularity Scott." Damien said.

"I don't need popularity. Which is the big difference between us. You need it. I don't really care." Nathan said.

"Whatever Scott." Damien said turning away from Nathan. The bell rang a few minutes later and the groups dispersed to their individual areas.

"So what are we talking about today?" he asked as he pulled her down onto the floor in their hallway.

"Just tying up lose ends. Anything you want me to know, you can tell me. And vice versa." she said.

"Okay. How about my dad's a dick." Nathan said grimly.

"What did your dad do?" she asked.

"Just what he always does. I got hell for taking you out last night, and for going to the party tonight. He thinks I'm not paying enough attention to basketball, and too much attention to more "trivial matters." he said bitterly.

"Well don't listen to him. You know how much time you need to spend on basketball. And granted I know next to nothing about the sport despite the fact that I am a cheerleader, but I think you are amazing at basketball. I have never seen someone throw a ball through a hoop like you can Nate." she told him squeezing his arm.

"You know they should name a drug after you. You always make me feel better." he said.

"Hmm what would they call me?" she asked.

"I don't know. But you would definitely be an illegal drug with how good you make me feel." he said lacing their fingers together.

"Well you're pretty addicting too.' she told him smiling.

"Now what about you?" he asked.

"My parents, especially my dad still treats me like a child. I think its because I'm the baby and all. But I'm 16 and the only rebellious thing I have ever done is that night with Brooke and Peyton." she said.

"At least your parents love you." he said.

"Your's do too. They just show it in different ways." she said.

"Sure. Hmm what else can I tell you? Hmmm. I secretly wanted a dog since I was young." he said.

"You want a puppy?" she asked.

"Yup. I don't know what kind. I've changed back and forth between a husky and one of those really cute fluffy ones." he said.

"A Pomeranian?" she asked trying to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah that one. What's so funny?" he asked noticing her holding back her laugh.

"You want a Pomeranian. Big basketball star owns Pomeranian." she said bursting out in a fit of giggles.

"It's not that funny." he told her.

"Yes, yes it is. Usually only girls want a Pomeranian. It is very much a girl dog." she said.

"Sure. I want a Pomeranian. They are so warm and cute." he defended.

"Whatever you want." she said calming herself down.

"Tell me something about you now." he said.

"Um I used to have the hugest crush on Justin Timberlake circa NSYNC. Ask Brooke and Peyton, I used to go around calling myself Mrs Haley Timberlake." she said cringing at the memory.

"When was that? Last year?" he teased her.

"No! When I was like 10. I haven't liked him in a long time." she said defending herself.

"I bet you liked Leonardo Dicaprio too circa Titanic." he laughed. "Of course I did. He was like the hottest guy on the planet in 1998. Brooke and Peyton also liked him. We shared him." she said fondly.

"I am much better looking than those too." he told her confidently.

"Whatever you say." she said.

"I am. You don't believe me?" he asked.

"You are much prettier than them." she said kissing him.

"Good answer." he told her before kissing her again.

Mouth and Rachel were sitting at the table talking. Rachel couldn't believe that in the course of a week, she went from not knowing who Mouth McFadden was, to liking Mouth McFadden. She really started to care for him. She loved how much he loved his family. She wished she felt like that about her parents. Rachel loved how much he liked his friends, but how having so many friends he still made time for her whenever she needed him. Which recently had happened quite a bit.

"Can I tell you something Mouth?" she asked.

"Of course Rachel." Mouth said to the girl he had the hugest crush on.

"This is going to be awkward and so unexpected. But remember that I never expected it either. But in the past week, I have really started to like you Mouth. I went from not knowing you, to not imagining what it would be like not to know you. Will you come to the party with me tonight?" she asked.

"You're inviting me to the party? The parties that only the popular people are invited too." he asked shocked.

"Yeah. Mouth I want to go with you. And if you don't want to go, I'll skip it and hang out with you somewhere else." she told him touching his shoulder.

"I'll go. I've never been to a party before." he admitted.

"That's okay. I'll take care of you. I wont even touch a drop of alcohol tonight, just to make sure you are taken care of." she assured him.

"I don't want to be a burden Rachel." he said frowning slightly.

"You would never be a burden Mouth. It wouldn't hurt me to not drink for a night. It'll be good for me." she told him smiling.

"Alight." Mouth said excitedly.

Everyone talked animatedly for the rest of the period. All excited about the party that evening. No one knew that the party would be a turning point for several couples though.


	8. Chapter 8

i'm sorry for my hiatus. i wasnt feeling inspired. for which i deeply apologize. i hope you enjoy the second last chapter in this story. my goal is to get the next one out before i go on holidays on tuesday. i'm going to try to update while i'm gone, but i dont know if i'll have an internet connection. either way i'll get lots of writing done. i'll stop rambling now. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think. you're reviews make my day.

PS i own nothing.

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Nathan met Haley at her house, it was decided that him, Jake and Lucas would meet everyone at Haley's house, and then they could all go to the party together. Haley opened the door when he knocked, and immediately invited him in. She was wearing a denim mini skirt and a white strapless top, it was obvious Brooke dressed her.

"Hey, you look pretty hot." he noted when he leaned in to kiss her softly.

"You do too." she said.

"And I know I look hot, so can we just go." Brooke begged when Lucas and Jake walked in a couple minutes later.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here." Haley said and the group walked out to Brooke's parents SUV. This was the one party Haley really didn't want to go to. For one it was at Damien's house, for another she was just not by definition a party girl. Once they pulled up in front of Damien's house, Haley took a deep breath and opened the door. She could see Damien entertaining a group of girls by the makeshift bar set up in his living room.

"I cant believe I ever found that attractive." she muttered while staring at Damien.

"I know. I cant believe you dated him. He's repellent." Brooke said glaring over at him.

"Call it my one lapse in judgement." she said.

"Yeah. It's even worse than you're tattoo and the sexy naval piercing." Brooke said grinning.

"Um, Brooke can we talk for a minute?" Haley asked, glancing at Nathan quickly.

"Oh yeah. Boytoy and Lucas we'll be right back." Brooke said excusing her and Haley.

"What's up? I get the feeling you want to talk about Nathan. And do you want me to go get P Sawyer." she asked.

"It is about Nathan, and you don't need to grab Peyton its not that important, and I'll tell her tomorrow, she's with Jake right now." Haley explained.

"Okay. So what's up?" Brooke asked leaning closer to Haley so she could hear her whispers.

"I'm in love with Nathan. Completely. I know it didn't take long, but I know its real." she said panicking slightly.

"That is so great. I mean it Hales. You're in love. There's no one else in the world that deserves that more." Brooke said.

"I just don't know how he feels. And I did something the other day, that I know I wont regret. But I don't want him to know and freak out about it. Tell me if I was way out of line in doing this. But I got his jersey number tattooed on the small of my back. Was that wrong?" Haley said panicked.

"Wow, Haley. Let me see it." she said spinning Haley around and taking a quick peak at her back.

"I honestly don't know what made me do it. I just did it." Haley tried explaining.

" Hales. It's amazing. I mean it. I cant believe that you are the one that has two tattoos in our group. You've always been the good one." Brooke snickered.

"I know. Love is making me do crazy things." she said.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Lucas wandered over to the bar, when they each grabbed a beer.

"Well, since we're here. We might as well enjoy ourselves." Lucas said. "Agreed. It wont kill us to drink a little tonight." Nathan agreed.

"I wonder what the girls are talking about?" Lucas said gesturing over to Haley and Brooke.

"I have no idea. Brooke looked excited though." Nathan muttered.

"I saw that. It makes me curious." Lucas said staring at his girlfriend from across the room. He smiled even broader when he saw them walking towards them.

"We're back boys. You can stop missing us now." Brooke said grinning.

"We didn't miss you." Lucas said smiling at his girlfriend.

"Yes you did." she replied before fastening her lips to his.

"Ugh." Haley said shielding her eyes theatrically at the sight of the couple in front of her.

"It's disgusting isn't it?" Nathan said imitating Haley's actions.

"It is. Let's go elsewhere." she said gabbing his hand and leading him away from Brooke and Lucas.

"We so just got ditched." Lucas said watching Nathan and Haley walk away.

"That's okay We can have some alone time. And besides Naley have lots to talk about." Brooke said.

"You gave them a nickname?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"Of course I did. It makes absolutely no sense to keep calling them Nathan and Haley. Naley is so much easier." Brooke defended.

"You're right of course." Lucas amended before leaning in to kiss her again.

"Welcome to you're first high school party Mouth McFadden." Rachel said smiling warmly.

"This is amazing." Mouth said smiling from ear to ear. He frowned when he saw an obviously drunk guy walk up and put his arms around Rachel.

"Hey baby. Ready to get drunk?" he chanted.

"Not tonight Steve. I'm hanging with Mouth tonight." she said taking a hold of his hand.

"Who's Mouth?" Steven asked.

"This is Mouth. Just go and drink yourself into a stupor as you do every weekend." she instructed.

"Yeah but you used to join me." he whined.

"Not this time. I am staying sober so I can show Mouth a good time." Rachel said firmly.

"Whatever." Steve said stalking off.

"You don't really need to do this Rachel. I don't want to keep you from having a good time." Mouth told her.

"You're not. Like I said earlier. I want to be with you tonight, and I want to remember this night. If you don't want to be here, we can go wherever you want to. It's up to you." she said looking him in the eyes.

"I want to stay here Rachel." he said softly.

"Great. Let's go dance." she said inviting him onto the dance floor.

"It's nice and quiet in here. This is what I like. Quiet." Haley said as they found an empty room to sit in.

"It's nice. So what were you and Brooke talking about?" he asked curiously.

"Nuh uh. Girl talk." she admonished.

"Not even a hint?" he asked.

"Not even a hint." she confirmed laying down on the mattress.

"Damn. You're mean you know that Haley James." he muttered, rolling onto his side to face her.

"Can we stay here until the end of the party?" she asked.

"If you want to. This is nice." he said.

"Yeah. What's nice about it?" she asked.

"Just being here with you." he said.

"You are good you know that. But we're about to find out how good you are. My neck is sore, will you massage it for me?" she asked.

"Certainly. Sit up." he instructed. She did as he commanded, and moved forward on the bed. He moved in behind her and started kneading her sore muscles. Everything was going well, until he glanced down and saw the number inked on her lower back.

"Haley what is that?" he asked shocked.

"What?" she asked confused.

"What's that on your back?" he asked.

"You weren't supposed to see that." she said defeated.

"Why the hell not? You don't think that its my business that my girlfriend got my jersey number tattooed on her ass?" he asked incredulously.

"No its not. It's my body. And I can do with it what I choose." she said defensively. He said frozen in his spot, internally freaking out at this new development. He was perfectly fine with his feelings, but knowing she obviously had pretty important feelings too freaked him out. He had no idea what to do with this. No idea how to react, no idea how to deal. He sat there frozen like a statue.

"Nathan? How do you feel about this?" she asked cautiously.

"I- I don't know. I have to go." he said getting up off the bed and walking out the door.

"Nathan don't walk away." she begged.

"I have to. I'll see you downstairs later." he said before walking out the door. Haley straightened out her clothes, making sure her tattoo was covered and walked downstairs. She could see Brooke and Lucas making out in the corner, she could see Peyton and Jake was a deep conversation in the other corner and she could see Nathan downing shots by the bar. She sighed and walked over to him.

"Nathan what are you doing?" she asked.

"Drinking. This is what you do at parties." he said putting up his walls.

"No its not. We really need to talk about this." she said.

"Not right now Haley. Right now I just want to drink." he said slurring his words slightly. With a sigh she walked off and found a spot to sit. While she was sitting there, she realized why it was that she hated parties so much. The drinking, and the attitudes always managed to offend her. A little while later she glanced at her watch and saw that it had been an hour since Nathan had saw the tattoo. She could still see him at the bar downing shots, and she wondered how much more he could take. He saw her and smiled and started stumbling over to her, obviously drunk.

"Haley." he slurred.

"Nathan are you drunk? She asked worried. He grinning holding his fingers close together to demonstrate a little bit. He took a seat next to her and leaned in to kiss her hungrily. She let him kiss her for a little while, until he got to forceful.

"Nathan. Stop." she ordered.

"What cant I make out with my girlfriend?" he asked moving ever closer to her.

"Not like this you cant." she said.

"Why not. Lucas and Brooke are having sex. I bet Peyton and Jake are too. Why cant we?" he slurred.

"Because that's not who I am." she tried explaining. "you should be that person. Come on Hales, lets give these people a show." he said sliding his finger up her top, playing with the clasp on her strapless bra.

"Nathan stop." she panicked pushing him off of her before walking away. She walked past Brooke, who seeing the expression on her face followed quickly after.

"Hales, what's wrong?" Brooke asked.

"Nothing. I'm just going to go home though. Nathan is drunk and I cant be around that." she explained.

"Why is Nathan drinking?" Brooke asked concerned.

"Because he saw my tattoo and he freaked about it." she said honestly.

"I see. Are you sure you want to go home though?" Brooke asked.

"I am." she said.

"Do you want a ride?" Brooke asked.

"No, you stay here. I want to walk." Haley told her friend.

"Okay. Well call me tomorrow." she said before turning to walk back inside. Haley turned in the opposite direction and started walking home.

A little while later Haley walked up her front walk, her feet killing her from the heels Brooke forced her to wear. She could see the lights on in the living room showing that her parents were waiting up for her. She opened the front door and kicked off her shoes immediately.

"Haley bop is that you?" Lydia called.

"Yeah its me mom." she called back walking into the living room.

"What are you wearing?" Jimmy asked when he eyed the mid thigh length denim skirt and tight strapless while top she was wearing.

"My outfit to the party tonight." she said defensively.

"Your skirt needs to be a lot longer. Shirt needs to me looser and not strapless. I have told you many times not to dress like Brooke." he said.

"I wear what I wear." Haley said fumbling with her purse and house keys before dropping the keys on the floor.

"Damn it." she muttered and bent down to pick them up. Her fathers eyes widened in shock when he saw the ink on his daughters body.

"What is that? On you're ass?" he asked livid.

"A tattoo." she said softly, knowing how mad they were likely to be.

"Now before I start yelling, is there anything else I should know about?" he asked. Haley took a deep breath and moved her hair to the side and turned around so her father could see the words on her neck.

"Best friends forever. Is there anything else?" he asked angrily. She took an even deeper breath than before.

"I also have my belly button pierced." she said.

"What? I will not have my daughter going around looking like a slut. When did all this happen?" he asked angrily.

"The tattoo on my neck and the piercing happened when Brooke, Peyton and I were 15 and we were at Brooke's house with some of her other friends. This one happened when I realized I loved Nathan." he spoke quietly.

"Do these tattoos mean something to you dear?" Lydia asked stepping in.

"Yes. Nathan means a lot to me, so I tattooed his jersey number on the small of my back. Brooke and Peyton have the exact same tattoo in the same place and the same piecing as me." she said.

"Okay. Haley we arent happy about this, but I'm speaking for your father and myself at the moment when I saw that there's not much we can do about it. You're a responsible girl and we trust you\re judgement. Just be careful sweetie." Lydia said softly.

"I'm going to bed." Haley said standing up and walking up the stirs.

"Okay. Good night sweetheart." Lydia said.

"Haley just wait a second." Jimmy called after her.

"what is it dad?" she asked tired.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just wish you were still that 8 year old girl who would check with me before she did anything. I guess its just hard to watch you grow up. I love you so much sweetheart. In my mind, you'll always be my baby. That's not gonna change." Jimmy said hugging his daughter.

"Goodnight daddy." she said before pulling away and walking up the stairs again. She decided that all her problems could wait until tomorrow. Nathan could wait until tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

this chapter is a bit shorter. but there's still one more after this. I hope to get it written while i'm on holidays starting tuesday. hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think.

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The next morning, Haley's feelings weren't any clearer than they were last night. The only things she was sure of what that she in love with Nathan, and that she was pissed at him. It seemed like the feelings were mutually exclusive, since neither seemed to be going away anytime soon. She rolled over and glanced at her clock, showing that it was only 7 she rolled back over and tried to fall asleep. But clearly that wasn't meant to be, because after she closed her eyes, and faint tapping at her window woke her again.

"what the hell?" she said groggily. Trying to ignore it she closed her eyes again, having a pretty good idea who was throwing rocks at her window.

Nathan stood outside Haley's bedroom window chucking pebbles at it, hoping to get her attention. He hated himself for what he did to her last night. He was definitely feeling the effects this morning, but yet here he was. Waiting to see if she would ever talk to him again. Yes the tattoo freaked him out a little bit, but that was no reason for him to turn to alcohol. He knew that. He just hoped he could get her to speak to him, or at the very least listen to what he had to say. He continued throwing pebbles until he heard her window open.

"What are you doing here, Nathan?" she asked tiredly.

"I need to talk to you about last night. Will you please come down?" he pleaded.

"I don't want to see you. I don't want to talk to you. Just go home Nathan." she said before shutting her window and going back to bed. Nathan stood there dejectedly for a minute but decided that one way or another she was going to talk to him.

Haley crawled back into bed and tried to get some more sleep. She couldn't deny that she was impressed that he was here at 7 am on a Saturday, when he was hung-over. That didn't mean that she wanted to talk or be with him anytime soon. She was still to upset for that. She rolled over and faced the window, curious as to whether or not he was still there. Before she could get the nerve to check, she could hear muffled sounds coming from outside. Curious, she got up and walked over to her window. When she opened the curtains, she was surprised at what she saw. Nathan was hanging from the great big oak tree outside her window trying to swing himself to the window sill.

"Nathan what are you doing?" she asked shocked.

"I need to talk to you Haley. One way or another you are going to talk to me." he panted.

"You really are insistent. Cant you just understand that I don't want to talk to you." she said stubbornly.

"I need to talk to you Hales. Now can you give me a hand?" he asked.

"Why should I?" she asked.

"Because I am about to fall from this tree and I don't really want to." he said.

"You're not going to fall." she said, but she moved to the side so he could swing his way into her room.

"Thank you." he said before swinging so he could grab onto the ledge. But instead, when he let go of the branch, his hand slipped off the ledge and he fell the few feet to the ground. Haley ran down the stairs and outside to where he fell.

"Oh my God, Nathan are you okay?" she asked.

"Ow." he said.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry." she said sitting down beside him.

"Haley. I'm okay. I promise. I can move." he said moving all his limbs.

"Are you sure? Oh this is all my fault." she fretted.

"Lets call it even then. You drop me from a window, and I was an ass last night." he suggested.

"Okay. I'm sorry Nathan." she said wrapping her arms around his neck/

"I'm sorry too Haley." he said kissing the top of her head.

"So what's the plan today pretty girl?" Lucas asked as he and Brooke wandered hand in hand down the streets of Tree Hill.

"I don't know. It's still early, I'll let you buy me breakfast." she suggested.

"Good plan." he said turning them to steer her in the direction of the café.

"Oooh Karen's Café. Good choice boyfriend." she said as they took a seat in the café a few minutes later.

"Only the best for my girlfriend." he said softly.

"What can I get you guys?" Karen asked when she saw her son walk in.

"Get us two specials and two coffees." he told his mom.

"Okay. You're here early Luke. It's only quarter to 8." she said glancing at her watch.

"Couldn't sleep. Some crazy, beautiful girl was knocking on my door at 7." he said smiling at Brooke. "Hey. I couldn't sleep either. I just wanted to spend as much time as possible with my boyfriend." she said smiling warmly at him. Karen walked away smiling, loving how happy her son seemed to be with Brooke Davis. Karen never would have thought in a million years that her son would fall in love with Brooke Davis. She was the furthest things from Karen's mind. But yet she was impressed, she could tell the girl was crazy for her son.

"So after breakfast, what's the plan?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" Lucas asked.

"Well. I have a Jacuzzi. We could go and hang out at my house." she suggested.

"Sounds good to me." he affirmed, loving the idea of him and Brooke in a Jacuzzi.

"Good." she said kissing him softly. The young couple enjoyed their breakfast, with a steady stream of conversation. Karen loved seeing her son so happy. She loved the smile that graced his face whenever Brooke said something. She wasn't sure if he knew it yet, but she was sure he was in love with Brooke Davis.

It was a few hours later, and Peyton was sitting at home missing Jake. She wished she could see him today, but she knew she couldn't. It was Saturday. She knew he always spent all Saturdays with Jenny, and he had never invited her. It didn't bother her per se. She knew how protective of Jenny he was, and couldn't blame him. She was in the middle of drawing a picture of her and Jake when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Who rings the doorbell?" she asked herself, knowing that most people just walked right on in. She was surprised to find Jake on the doorstep, with his car parked right outside.

"Hey. I didn't expect you." she said happy to see him.

"That was the plan. So what's you're plans for today?" he asked kissing her softly

"Drawing." she said.

"Oh. Do you want to hang out with me and Jenny today?" he asked hoping she'd say yes.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. You're important to me Peyton, I think it's time you met my daughter." he told her.

"Yeah. Let's go." she said grabbing her purse and following Jake out the door.

"Now we usually spend the day at the park, is that okay with you?" he asked.

"Of course." she said happily. Jake drove them to the park, and once parked, he pulled Jenny out and carried her over to the swings. Once he placed her in the swing and gave her a little push.

"Peyton this is Jenny." he said.

"She's beautiful Jake." she said honestly.

"Thanks Peyton. She's my whole world." he said proudly.

Haley sat with Nathan on the couch, as she waited for her parents to come downstairs.

"Are you sure you're ready to meet my parents?" she asked.

"Yeah. It'll be good. They sound cool." he assured her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked referring to his fall.

"Hales. I'm fine. I promise." he said.

"Where are my parents?" she asked herself.

"While we're waiting we should probably discuss some stuff." he said.

"Yeah we should. But wait it's Saturday isn't it?" she asked.

"It is. Why?" he wondered.

"Ugh. Of course. It's Saturday morning, or as my parents refer to it. "Naked Saturday" they spend all day in bed doing stuff that I don't even want to think about." she said wincing.

"Oh. Ew." Nathan said.

"I know. They'll come downstairs shortly for a cup of coffee." she said. Just as Haley predicted, they heard the bedroom door open and footsteps sound on the stairs.

"Haley is that you we hear down there." Jimmy called.

"Yeah with Nathan. He wants to meet you guys." she answered.

"Ooooh. We get to meet our daughters boyfriend on Naked Saturday. Best day ever," Jimmy said.

"Please don't embarrass me." she begged.

"Oh don't worry about us. You get lucky sweetie. You're mom and I have our day planned to this will be quick." he said walking into the living room.

"Hello Nathan. I am Jimmy James this is my wife Lydia. We are Haley's parents. Nice to meet you." he said politely.

"Nice to meet you too." Nathan replied.

"Well that's that. We're going back upstairs." Jimmy said taking his coffee from Lydia. Haley sunk into Nathan's side and he put his arm around her shoulders.

"That was humiliating. Do you're parents do stuff like that?" she asked.

"No. You're lucky you know that. You're parents are still in love. Mine clearly aren't. when they do speak, its almost always yelling." he told her.

"Oh. I'm sorry." she said

"It's okay. I just ignore it. I don't need them." he told her smiling.

"So about that presentation Monday morning. Are you ready for yours?" she asked.

"Almost. You?" he asked.

"Yup. I've had my report written for a couple days." she said.

"Wow. You know there is such a thing as being to prepared." he told her.

"I've heard that before." she told him.

"It's true. I have never seen someone so dedicated to their homework before." he said laughing.

"You say it like it's a bad thing." she noted.

"It's not. It's a good thing. Can you be that dedicated with my homework too?" he asked jokingly.

"Nice try mister." she said smiling. They sat like that for several more hours after that. Neither wanting to leave each others sides. Wanting to spend every moment together. Haley couldn't wait for Monday morning, when she got to tell the class about the real Nathan Scott. She loved the person she had gotten to know over the past week. The person she had fallen in love with from the beginning of the week.


	10. Chapter 10

Here is the final chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorited, and alerted this story or me as an author. I really appreciated all the kind words, they inspired me immensely.

PS i own nothing.

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Monday morning came quicker than anyone expected. And before anyone knew it, they were all seated in first period waiting for the presentations to begin.

"Alright is everyone ready? You're marks will be determined by the amount of effort you put into the assignment. No one should fail this assignment, it is almost virtually impossible. Okay first group is Bevin Mirskey and Skills Taylor." Mr Anderson said to the class. Bevin and Skills moved they're way to the front of the class.

"Alright, I spent the week with Bevin Mirskey, and I'm proud to say that unlike public knowledge, Bevin is a very intelligent girl. He is beautiful, she is a cheerleader. She was born Bevin Evan Mirskey to parents that are still together. Which I happen to think is pretty awesome. Her favourite childhood memory was a trip to Disney Land when she was 6, it was a trip she'll never forget. She wants nothing more in life than to be loved for who she is, and to leave behind the person she was in high school. I like the person she is. I really like this person, and if she'll let me, I want to continue spending time with this wonderful, sexy cheerleader." Skills finished off.

"Uh, Mr Taylor can we not say sexy in my class please. It's not a nice way to talk about a female classmate. But good work." Mr Anderson said before turning his attention to Bevin.

"Uh hi. I spent the week with Antwon Skills Taylor. He is an avid basketball fan. He got his nickname Skills from his amazing basketball skills. He's kind, and he thinks I can do more with my life than just cheerlead. Which is good for me, because all I've ever known in high school is being the dumb cheerleader. And I hope to ditch that image. Skills wants to go to college. He doesn't want to work at the factory his father works at for the rest of his life. His parents are still together, and that makes me glad. I've seen that pattern, people who come from a nice family, usually turn out the best. I truly believe that now that I know Skills. Skills is kind to all people, and his dream is to play basketball professionally. I believe Skills Taylor will get whatever he wants out of life, because he deserves it. He'll work hard and accomplish everything." Bevin said.

"Great Job Bevin and Skills. Do you guys want your marks now, or later." he asked.

"Now." they said simultaneously.

"Okay, as a group the two of you got 89%, I just didn't get enough background information. Be proud of yourselves" he told them. Bevin and Skills sat down in their seats and smiled at each other.

"Alright now. Mouth and Rachel." he said gesturing to the two.

"Alright, I spent the week with Rachel Gatina, and I have to admit she proved me wrong. Not only is she beautiful and popular, she's also kind. She befriended me, even though I'm not popular. She likes being seen with me, even though I'm not one of those good looking guys. Rachel moved around a lot growing up, but she told me that this is home. She likes it better here. I'm happy about that because maybe now she'll stay here. I love how she can be honest with me, even about things she doesn't want everyone to know. Rachel makes me feel special, which is quite an accomplishment. Secretly, she hates living alone. She wants her parents to care about her. Rachel is a normal girl, and I wouldn't give up one second of our week together." Mouth said smiling warmly at Rachel.

"I spent a week with Marvin McFadden, better known to you as Mouth. Mouth's dream is to be a sports announcer, and I for one think he'll be amazing at it. Mouth has two parents that love him very much, which makes me envious. Everyone loves him. I mean he's Mouth McFadden, how can anyone not like him. He's nice to everyone, and doesn't even try when he makes me smile. He has a close relationship with his grandfather who is in a retirement home suffering from Alzheimer's. Mouth took me to visit him in one of the times he let me in. I have had many boyfriends, and many friends but none of them mean as much to me as Mouth. Mouth in the course of a week, became on of my closest friends. I don't want to lose him, not now not ever." she said smiling at Mouth across the podium.

"Great job, Rachel and Mouth. 90%" Mr Anderson said as the returned to they're seats.

"Next, Peyton and Jake." Mr Anderson said

"Alright I spent the week with Jake. And I've fallen for him. I've never opened my heart to someone like this before and honestly it scares me a little bit. Jake is an amazing person. He is into music much like me. That was the plane we bonded on first. It was easy for us to talk because we had music in common. He is caring. He is a terrific father to Jenny. And he cares about me. He wants what's best for me and for that I love him. Jake Jagielski wants nothing in life than to be a good father. It took me some time to get him to admit that he had dreams for himself as well. He would love to play basketball professionally but he would be fine playing his music too. He gets along with my father and my best friends love him. Jake is a great catch. I hope he still likes me after this assignment is over." Peyton said.

"Okay. I spent a week with Peyton Sawyer. Although it felt like much longer. Just because when we were talking it felt like we were talking for hours with the amount we learned about each other. Peyton is raised by her father, who is doing a wonderful job, because Peyton is beautiful and kind and smart and funny. Peyton's passion is music and I love that about her. She is amazing with my daughter, which I really appreciate. Her best friends are her family, I can understand that. I have friends that I'm close to, just not quite like that. These girls do everything together, and that comforts me. Because in the past week Peyton has become the second most important person in my life. And I hope she stays like that forever. One of Peyton's favourite memories? She loved the time her dad took her on a dredging boat with him. She loved it. Also anytime she gets to spend with Brooke and Haley are also the best memories ever. Last week I barely knew Peyton Sawyer now I know I couldn't live without her." Jake said before smiling at her. Peyton walked over and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Wonderful. 100%" Mr Anderson said clapping his hands. Jake led Peyton back to their seats as they waited for the next project glad their's was over with.

"Alight moving on. Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott.`` Mr Anderson called.

"Alright. Brooke Penelope Davis is the beautiful head cheerleader of the Tree Hill Ravens. She grew up mostly on her own, her parents constantly travelling. Most of her life was spent with her two best friends Peyton and Haley. Brooke Davis is funny and kind. She would love to create her own fashion line. She says that would be her dream. Her favourite memory is from a night she spent with Peyton and Haley when they were 15. A night that will be forever embedded in their minds. A night where alcohol was consumed and things were done. Brooke loves cheerleading, almost as much as fashion. Which is impossible. And despite how she sometimes acts, she is the nicest person in the world. She has more dedication and loyalty than anyone I've ever met. I love that quality in her. She would do anything for her friends, and even more for her best friends. The people she loves she always puts ahead of herself. She has the genuine warmth inside of her that makes me always want to be around her. It only took me a week but I love Brooke Davis." Lucas went on about her.

"Lucas Eugene Scott is a basketball player, a writer, a friend, a brother. He is kind and has tons of friends. I can see why people like him so much. He's so easy to get along with. Everyone knows, I have this reputation around school, but Lucas never cared. He ignored everything people thought I was and made his own interpretation. I love him for that. When I'm around him I'm not that poor little rich girl who's always alone, I'm strong, and capable. One of Lucas's favourite moments growing up was this one time when he replaced Nathan's shampoo with blue hair dye. Nathan had blue hair for a month and refused to leave the house. Lucas loved that day, he loves his bother, and he loves his friends. More than anything in the world. He loves reading, his favourite author is John Steinbeck. He is also an avid writer, I admire him for that. He loves basketball. He is so talented, I love that about him. I'm jealous of him because of that, there are so many people that love Lucas and he has many talents, and I only have Haley and Peyton, and I have no talents. It also only took me a week for fall for Lucas Scott, even though I know he's too good for me. I just hope to God that he never figures in out." Brooke said reading her essay.

"That was wonderful Brooke and Lucas. 100%. I love this assignment, its bringing people together, just as I had hoped." Mr Anderson said happily. Our final presentation will be Haley James and Nathan Scott." Mr Anderson said taking a seat at his desk.

Nathan led Haley up to the front before taking his spot beside her.

"Hi, I spent the week with Nathan Scott, and before this I never really knew him. That was a shame. But the way I feel for him now is a drastic change from the way I felt about him before. I never knew him, but from what I could see he was shallow and egocentric. But now I see his confidence is a mask, his ego, because he truly believes he is the best. I love that about him. Nathan Royal Scott has always been gifted, and that gift gave him a pretty rough childhood. I don't envy him that. He got pressured and belittled all the time but I think that made him who he is today. That person is pretty spectacular. Nathan will always hold a grudge against his brother for dying his hair blue. I found that story hilarious. He is a phenomenal basketball player, and I know he will make it to the NBA. I know it. I have faith in him. He says he wants a family someday, and honestly that surprised me. I thought he'd be all basketball, all his life. He loves his family despite how they've treated him in the past. Nathan secretly wants a Pomeranian, even after I teased him ruthlessly about it. He wants his dad to finally be proud of him. He is kind. That is probably my favorite trait of his. Above anything he will always protect those he loves. We have that in common. This assignment allowed me to get to know someone I otherwise wouldn't have. I owe my relationship with Nathan to this assignment. After how I got to know him this week, I don't think I could imagine a day without him in it. Nathan Scott is the best person I've ever met." she said certainly.

"I spent the week with Haley James, and I also believe that she is the best person I have ever met. She is the smartest, most beautiful, most honest, kindest person I have ever met. She makes me believe that I am better than my father always made me think I am. She has 3 brothers and 3 sisters, and she loves them all. She's the baby of the family. Although her brother Matt may still hate her though. When Haley was younger her brother Matt cut the hair off of one of her Barbie's. She was having a sleepover as she did almost every weekend, and Brooke came up with a diabolical plan to get revenge. While Matt was sleeping the girls shaved off his eyebrows and shaved "jackass" into her his. Haley was grounded. I loved hearing about that side of Haley. If possible it made me like her even more. It is a given that Haley James is going to be the valedictorian of our senior class. Her dedication to her schoolwork is unheard of. I respect that I also respect how she spends her own time tutoring the kids that need help. That just shows how selfless she is. Her parents are still together, and are still in love. Unlike mine. She is so lucky, to have a dedicated family. She has the greatest best friends anyone could ever ask for. And surprisingly enough Haley James has a rebellious side. I never would've thought that. But all in all I never ever expected to fall madly in love with Haley James." Nathan said turning towards the girl he was in love with.

"Well done Nathan and Haley. Perfect score. 100%. Great work. Great job for every group out there. I'm proud of all of you." Mr Anderson said clapping his hands. The bell rang and everyone dispersed. Knowing that this assignment changed everything for every person in that class. One week changed everyone's life, whether they asked for it or not.


End file.
